The people in charge of resettling refugees in Toronto have requested a temporary pause in the flow of Syrian refugees because of the lack of available temporary and permanent housing.

The resettlement programs in a total of three cities – Toronto, Vancouver and Ottawa – have now requested the pause. Officials from a fourth city, Halifax has asked the federal government to slow down the number of refugees headed there.

“We have received requests to slow down arrivals in some communities. We are accommodating those requests to ensure that in the end, the refugees are well taken care of,” said a spokesperson for the Ministry of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship in an emailed statement.